Cells included in mechanical response tissues of humans and animals are exposed to various mechanical stimulations, such as a tensile force, a shearing force, and a compressive force. Repeated mechanical stimulations may cause a disease, such as arthritis, affecting articular cartilage tissue. Accordingly, research being conducted on cell responses caused by the mechanical stimulations has been receiving attention.
When replacement tissues, mechanical response tissues in particular, for humans and animals are developed to have complete functions from stem cells, mechanical stimulations are applied to cells while the stem cells are being grown. A level of stimulations applied to the cells may vary based on a type of cell and a type of tissue being developed.
Research is being done on cell response and cell stimulation for developing stem cells. For example, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2011-0059186 discloses a once-through ultrasound stimulating culture system for an adult stem cell, and Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2007-0072023 discloses a method of effectively separating and multiplying a mesenchyma stem cell from a tissue and a cell using an ultrasound of low intensity.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a cell stimulation apparatus according to related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, a related cell stimulation apparatus 1 includes a plurality of ultrasound transducers, for example, an ultrasound transducer 10, a plurality of cell containing tubes, for example, a cell containing tube 20, disposed on a top of each of the ultrasound transducers.
In a case of such configuration, because a cell is put in the tube 20 to stimulate the cell through the ultrasound transducer 10, the configuration may be used when culturing the cell in a condition in which the cell floats. The configuration may be limitedly used in a condition in which the cell is at a bottom of the tube, due to a spatial limitation that exists when stimulating the cell in such condition. Also, because an intensity of an ultrasound wave being transmitted is decreased due to a thick base of the cell containing tube 20, it may be difficult to accurately estimate the intensity of the ultrasound wave to be used for stimulation.
Research on disposing an ultrasound transducer inside of a cell containing tube has been conducted, but with such configuration a size and complexity of an entire apparatus may increase. Thus, a plurality of ultrasound transducers corresponding to the cell containing tubes may be requested in order to stimulate cells by changing a stimulating time, a frequency of an ultrasound wave, and an availability rate.